SHARP falls in demand and prices for coal have prompted the Australian coal unit of South Africa's Anglo American to cut 650 jobs from mines in Queensland and NSW.
Anglo arrived at the job cuts number after a strategic review aimed at achieving a 20 per cent fall in labour and contractor costs across its mining operations.
The job cuts add to the thousands of positions lost elsewhere in the mining industry since the global financial crisis took hold last year, driving demand and prices lower.
Rising unemployment in Queensland's previously booming coal towns has emerged as a hot issue in Queensland's state election on March 21. The pressure on coal prices is also causing headaches for the Federal Government.
Coal remains Australia's biggest export, but with coal prices expected to more than halve, Australia's trade position is set to worsen dramatically.
Chief executive of Anglo Coal Australia (ACA) Seamus French said that there would be 60 voluntary redundancies and a reduction of 470 contractor positions.
"Every effort has also been made to retain our talent, however, despite these measures, there will also be non-voluntary redundancies for 120 employees across the company's operations — 3 per cent of ACA's total workforce," Mr French said.
He said Anglo would continue to support its graduate and apprenticeship programs. The job losses will occur over the coming weeks.
